The seasons
Nice was built as a winter destination — the English and Russian colonies came for mild Januaries, not for August. That inversion is worth knowing, because winter here is still bright and the city is still open.
Spring and early autumn are the best compromise: warm, long days, and the crowds thinner than in high summer. The sea is at its warmest in early autumn, well after the air has peaked.
High summer
July and August are hot, busy and expensive, and the beach is full. The old town lanes stay shaded and cool, which is not an accident of design.
The Carnival
Nice's Carnival runs in late winter and is one of the largest in Europe — floats, flower battles along the seafront, and a city noticeably fuller than it would otherwise be at that time of year.
Dates move with the calendar each year, and stands and closures around the route change with them. Check the city's own announcements rather than any date written here.
What is shut, and when
The museums here each take a weekday off, and they do not all take the same one. Two or three of the places on this site will be closed on any given day of your visit, so it is worth checking the one you are building a day around before you set out.
Some smaller places also close for a period in winter. The operator's own page is the only thing that is right on the day.
